Shoulder Back Lift (Arms by Ear): Build Bulletproof Shoulders in 2025

📖 5 min read | 🎯 Intermediate | 📅 Updated January 2025

Interested in continuing to build stronger, mobile, healthier and pain-free shoulders?

Then shoulder back lifts is an awesome workout for you!

Shoulder back lifts mainly targets the weak link (the muscles you haven’t used much or you didn’t even know existed) in your shoulder muscles such as the posterior deltoids.

Even if the focus is on the shoulders, the exercise also covers a good range of the posterior chain and as a result, helps in improving your posture.

It’s hard to pass up this simple exercise to simply pass by. Just remember to execute the exercise in proper form and the progression appropriate for you to gain most from the exercise and avoid any injuries!

👍 HOW TO KNOW WHEN IT’S SAFE TO ATTEMPT?

This looks like a very easy exercise but it’s not exactly for beginners. Doing the exercise on the floor requires you to have good, strong and mobile shoulders and scapula to handle the load.

It’s ideal to train first with the exercise on an incline bench or stability ball to lessen the load and give you more range to move if even the starting position of the shoulder back lifts on the floor is already difficult for you.

✅ Summarized Benefits

1. Strengthens shoulders and back muscles that are usually weak links.
2. Strengthen core muscles
3. Improves shoulder mobility
4. Promote shoulder health and stability
5. Assist in shoulder rehabilitation
6. Translatable gains for other skills that require shoulder strength and mobility such as planche and handstands
7. Helps alleviates shoulder impingement and pain
8. Improves posture

💪 How to Perform

1. Begin laying prone with arms straight next to your ears, thumbs up.
2. Keep body tight and straight, legs together.
3. Lift arms up towards the ceiling, then lower.
4. Repeat specified repetitions.

👉 Keep in Mind

Keep your shoulder blades together

Once you lift your arms, you need to pinch your shoulder blades together. Don’t allow your lats and lower back to lift your arms up. You can think of stretching the arms up and forward to keep your shoulders activated and engaged.

To also focus the activation on the key muscles, you have to engage your core and leave a gap between your stomach and the floor. This avoids putting too much strain on your lower back.

Progress slowly

You don’t have to rush and do the move immediately. You have to slowly check where you are in your current position because doing the exercise shouldn’t feel any pain. You should feel just the same stimulation on your shoulders and back similar to when you’re working out with a different exercise.